Jerry
Brown speaks during a media briefing by members of President
Barack Obama's Climate Task Force committee in Los
AngelesThomson
Reuters

SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - A California appeals court has
agreed to expedite its review of a lower court ruling that could
derail Governor Jerry Brown's plan to build an 800-mile
high-speed rail system in the most populous U.S. state, court
documents showed.

The decision by the third district court of appeals, issued on
Friday in response to a request by the state for a speedy ruling,
relates to California's appeal of a November decision by a
California judge against the state's plan to issue more than $8
billion in bonds to help build the rail system.

The initial ruling by Sacramento County Superior Court Judge
Michael Kenney said there was too little information to support a
decision by the authority overseeing the project to move forward
with the sale of the bonds.

Kenney also ordered the state to re-do its financial plan for the
project. H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the governor's department
of finance, said the appeals court had now put that order on
hold.

The appeals court instructed the state to submit its arguments
against the lower court ruling by early April.

The rail system, a priority of Brown's, would send passengers
hurtling through the state's fertile San Joaquin Valley as they
travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Lines would eventually
extend to San Diego and Sacramento.

The project, now estimated to cost $68 billion, has been dogged
by controversy with questions over its planned routes, ridership
estimates and projected costs.

Brown, a Democrat, and other project supporters say the rail
network will prove to be a jobs boon for California and transform
the state's transportation infrastructure by linking far-flung
metropolitan areas.

Kenney's initial ruling did not halt the project, which has more
than $3 billion in federal funds at its disposal.